Baseball Opens MAC Slate at Eastern Michigan
3/22/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 22, 2012
Game Notes vs. Eastern Michigan 
The Mid-American Conference baseball season opens this weekend when Miami travels to Eastern Michigan for a three-game set. Game times are slated for 3 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday, although weather may affect Friday's time.
Miami (12-9) snapped a short two-game slide on Wednesday with a 6-3 victory in the back end of a home-and-home midweek series with Xavier. The RedHawks had a seven-game winning streak stopped by Morehead State on Sunday.
Eastern Michigan (6-13) dropped a 12-4 decision at Notre Dame on Tuesday following a three-game sweep of Niagara last weekend.
Miami was picked second in the MAC East Division in the preseason poll, while the Eagles were tabbed third on the West side.
Sophomore catcher John Crummy continues to lead Miami at the plate, batting .397 and driving in 20 run, tied for the team lead. Position mate Nate Bowles has ridden a nine-game hitting streak to the No. 2 spot, batting .378 with four RBIs, while Alex Johnson still stands third at .368, despite missing the last 11 games with a wrist injury.
As a team, the RedHawks are hitting .298, compared to .299 for the opponents.
On the mound, RedHawk pitchers hold a 5.73 ERA, but have struck out 138 batters, compared to 62 walks.
Miami has used the same rotation every weekend this spring, sending junior right-hander Mac Thoreson (2-2, 7.16) to the mound in the opener. After a rough first three games, he has settled down, winning back-to-back outings with a 1.12 ERA over 16 innings. Brooks Fiala (2-2, 8.10) earned the Saturday spot midway through the 2011 MAC season and has had just one bad outing this spring. enior lefty Shawn Marquardt will pitch the finale. He has been the RedHawks' ace this year, but was touched for six runs in 4.2 innings in his last start. He has been selected MAC East Pitcher of the Week twice in five opportunities this year.
Series History
Eastern Michigan leads the all-time series with Miami 54-44, but the RedHawks swept a three-game series in their last encounter (2009). The series dates back to 1969, when EMU won a close game 3-2.
Miami head coach Dan Simonds stands 7-3 all-time against the Eagles, but is just 1-3 in Ypsilanti.
Here is a summary of the last 10 meeting in the series:
Year Site Result Score3/28/09 Oxford, Ohio W 7-53/27/09 Oxford, Ohio W 12-23/27/09 Oxford, Ohio W 15-13/30/08 at Eastern Michigan L 2-33/29/08 at Eastern Michigan L 1-2 (11)3/29/08 at Eastern Michigan L 6-8 (11)5/25/06 Ypsilanti, Mich. (MAC) W 11-24/10/06 Oxford, Ohio W 6-34/9/06 Oxford, Ohio W 9-14/8/06 Oxford, Ohio W 11-4
Conference Opener
Miami started the 2011 season with a series sweep of Central Michigan in Oxford (athough the Chippewas were the home team). That reversed a 2010 scenario where the RedHawks lost their MAC opener.
During Dan Simond's six-year tenure, Miami has opened league play with a win four times. However, that has translated into a series win only three times.
Back on a Streak
Miami brings a win in its last outing to Ypsilanti for the Eastern Michigan series. The RedHawks had lost two straight before a 6-3 victory over Xavier on Wednesday. Before that, Miami had its season-long seven-game winning streak snapped on Sunday.
Last year, Miami had success runs of eight straight (April 17-May 1) and six straight (March 20-26). The former was the longest winning streak since 2007, when the RedHawks took 10 in a row.
Three Games Up
On the heels of its midweek split, the RedHawks are now three games over .500, one win shy of their best mark of the season. Miami was four games up (11-7) after sweeping a doubleheader from Morehead State last Saturday.
Hit Total After reaching double figures in hits five straight times before the Morehead State series, the RedHawks topped the mark only once over the next four games. However, the RedHawks restarted the streak with 11 hits against Xavier on Wednesday.
Miami has recorded at least 10 hits in 12 games this season with a high of 15 against Furman (Feb. 18, game 1).
Comeback Kid
Friday's scheduled starter, Mac Thoreson, has settled into his 2011 form after a shaky start to the season. A first-team All-MAC selection a year ago, he was 0-2 with a 15.43 ERA in his first three starts, never lasting more than 4.0 innings.
However, in his last two starts, Thoreson stands 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA (two earned runs in 16.0 innings) and has a complete game. He also has registered 10 strikeouts after totalling nine in the first three games.
Turning Two
In the latest NCAA statistics release (through games of March 18), Miami is tied with Mississippi State for the national lead in double plays with 28. The RedHawks top the per-game average list at 1.48.
In the two Xavier games, Miami added four more twin-killings to increase its total to 32 (1.52 per). Perhaps the most amazing statistic is that the RedHawks had pulled off a double play in every game this season, 21 straight.
The season-high is four in the 9-8 win at Ole Miss on March 2.
Taking a Base
Miami is off to a slow start on the bases this year, making 26 steals on 39 attempts (.667). Six different RedHawks have taken a base, led by Ryan Brenner with nine (in 11 attempts).
As of Monday, Miami ranked 82nd in the country, while Brenner is 85th in total and 98th at 0.42 per game.
A year ago, the RedHawks averaged 1.57 steals per game (96 in 60) with Brenner ranking second in Division I (39 of 48).
Hit Parade
Senior Ryan Brenner hit safely in the first 15 games this season before an 0-for-6 performance on March 14. However, that hasn't deterred the RedHawks second baseman. He started a new streak against Morehead State, registering at least on hit in the five games since.
That gives him at least one hit in 20 of Miami's 21 contests with two or more hits in eight of those.
Overall, Brenner is batting .330 with three doubles and seven RBIs. Prior to this season, Brenner's longest hit streak was just six games during the 2011 campaign.
Sophomore Nate Bowles and senior Bryce Redeker now top the active hit list with 10-game streaks.
Early Awards
A Miami player has captured a Mid-American Conference East Division weekly award in three of the first four opportunities. Senior Shawn Marquardt has two of those after being named Pitcher of the Week for the period March 5-11. He threw a complete game in Miami's 6-1 victory over Pittsburgh March 10. A complete-game, three-hitter against Michigan State on Feb. 26 earned him the same honor in week 2.
Junior Kevin Bower was the division's Player of the Week for Feb. 17-19 after batting .636 with one home run and six runs batted in.
From the Pen to the Lineup
Sophomore Charles Zubrod has developed into a solid weekday starter, posting overall numbers of 1-1 and a 2.28 ERA.
In his first two starts -- at Miami (Fla.) on March 7 and vs. Canisius last Tuesday -- he is 1-0 with a 0.73 ERA. He has allowed 11 hits in 12.1 innings and a .244 opponent batting average.
Against Xavier on Tuesday, he surrended three earned runs and six hits in 3.0 innings of work.
A year ago, Zubrod made just one appearance, allowing two runs in the ninth inning of a 10-2 win over Xavier April 13.
Preseason Picks
For the second straight season, Miami was tabbed second in the Mid-American Conference East Division in the annual preseason coaches' poll. The RedHawks received 48 points behind defending regular-season and tournament champion Kent State. Central Michigan was the favorite to win the West Division.
The league coaches also chose a potential tournament champion with the RedHawks receiving one vote.
2012 MAC Baseball Preseason Poll
MAC East Division
1. Kent State - 59 points
2. Miami - 48 points
3. Bowling Green - 36 points
4. Ohio - 34 points
5. Akron - 17 points
6. Buffalo - 16 points
MAC West Division
1. Central Michigan - 54 points
2. Toledo - 45 points
3. Eastern Michigan - 43 points
4. Northern Illinois - 36 points
5. Western Michigan - 21 points
6. Ball State - 11 points
MAC Tournament Champions
Kent State (7), Central Michigan (1), Toledo (1), Eastern Michigan (1), Miami (1)
*Akron coaching staff chose not to vote in the preseason poll due to being new to the league this season
